Parallel Bible results for "job 21"

Job 21

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 Then Iyov responded:

2 "Listen carefully to my words; let this be the comfort you give me.

3 Bear with me as I speak; then, after I have spoken, you can go on mocking.

4 "As for me, is my complaint merely to other people? Don't I have grounds for being short-tempered?

5 Look at me, and be appalled; cover your mouth with your hand!

6 Whenever I recall it, I am in shock; my whole body shudders.

7 "Why do the wicked go on living, grow old and keep increasing their power?

8 They see their children settled with them, their posterity assured.

9 Their houses are safe, with nothing to fear; God's rod is not on them.

10 Their bulls are fertile without fail, their cows get pregnant and don't miscarry.

11 They produce flocks of babies, and their children dance around.

12 They sing with tambourines and lyres and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.

13 They spend their days in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.

14 "Yet to God they said, 'Leave us alone! We don't want to know about your ways.

15 What is Shaddai, that we should serve him? What do we gain if we pray to him?'

16 Isn't their prosperity already theirs? The plans of the wicked are far from me.

17 "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their calamity come upon them? How often does [God] deal out pain in his anger,

18 to make them like straw in the wind, like chaff carried off by a storm?

19 God lays up for their children [the punishment for their] iniquity. He should lay it on [the wicked] themselves, so that they can feel it!

20 Let their own eyes see their own destruction and themselves drink the wrath of Shaddai.

21 What joy can they have in their family after them, given that their months are numbered?

22 "Can anyone teach God knowledge? After all, he judges those who are on high.

23 One person dies in his full strength, completely at ease and content;

24 his pails are full of milk, and the marrow in his bones is moist.

25 Another dies with embittered heart, never having tasted happiness.

26 They lie down alike in the dust, and the worm covers them both.

27 "Look, I know what you are thinking and your plans to do me wrong.

28 You ask, 'Where is the great man's house? Where is the tent where the wicked once lived?'

29 Haven't you ever questioned travelers? Don't you accept their testimony

30 that the evil man is saved on the day of disaster, rescued on the day of wrath?

31 So who will confront him with his ways? Who will repay him for what he has done?

32 For he is carried off to the grave, people keep watch over his tomb,

33 the clods of the valley are sweet to him; so everyone follows his example, just as before him were countless others.

34 "Why offer me such meaningless comfort? Of your answers, only the perfidy remains."

New Living Translation NLT

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “Listen closely to what I am saying. That’s one consolation you can give me.

3 Bear with me, and let me speak. After I have spoken, you may resume mocking me.

4 “My complaint is with God, not with people. I have good reason to be so impatient.

5 Look at me and be stunned. Put your hand over your mouth in shock.

6 When I think about what I am saying, I shudder. My body trembles.

7 “Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful?

8 They live to see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren.

9 Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed. Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.

11 They let their children frisk about like lambs. Their little ones skip and dance.

12 They sing with tambourine and harp. They celebrate to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in prosperity, then go down to the grave in peace.

14 And yet they say to God, ‘Go away. We want no part of you and your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’

16 (They think their prosperity is of their own doing, but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)

17 “Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished. Do they ever have trouble? Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?

18 Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm like chaff? Not at all!

19 “‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’ But I say he should punish the ones who sin, so that they understand his judgment.

20 Let them see their destruction with their own eyes. Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty.

21 For they will not care what happens to their family after they are dead.

22 “But who can teach a lesson to God, since he judges even the most powerful?

23 One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure,

24 the picture of good health, vigorous and fit.

25 Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life.

26 But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.

27 “Look, I know what you’re thinking. I know the schemes you plot against me.

28 You will tell me of rich and wicked people whose houses have vanished because of their sins.

29 But ask those who have been around, and they will tell you the truth.

30 Evil people are spared in times of calamity and are allowed to escape disaster.

31 No one criticizes them openly or pays them back for what they have done.

32 When they are carried to the grave, an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.

33 A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery. Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest, and the earth gives sweet repose.

34 “How can your empty clichés comfort me? All your explanations are lies!”